Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Personnel Termination topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Yakima County commissioners vote to terminate two employees after executive sessions
Summary
After two closed sessions totaling 50 minutes, the Yakima County Board of Commissioners voted April 22, 2025, to terminate the employment of Brian Griff and Keely Rice for alleged policy violations.
The Yakima County Board of Commissioners voted April 22, 2025, to terminate the employment of county employees Brian Griff and Keely Rice, citing alleged violations of the county’s conflict-of-interest policy and the policy on personal use of county resources.
The action followed two executive sessions, described on the record as totaling 50 minutes and held under the state open-meetings statute RCW 42.30.110(1)(g), which allows the board to discuss the performance of public employees. The board reconvened at about 11:10 a.m. and took the termination vote immediately afterward.
A motion to terminate was made and seconded; the board then took a voice vote. The minutes record the board saying “aye,” and the chair announced the motion carried. The meeting transcript contains no other recorded discussion, and no dissent or roll-call breakdown of opposing votes was provided on the public record.
The county referenced the specific policies at issue only as “Yakima County’s conflict of interest policy” and “the personal use of county resources policy.” The transcript does not include language from those policies, disciplinary histories, or additional factual findings supporting the terminations.
The board met the same morning for a consent agenda and other regular-business items prior to the executive sessions. County corporate counsel Stephanie Wiegand and Clerk of the Board Julie Lawrence were present for the meeting; the transcript does not record additional testimony from counsel during the public reconvening about the terminations.
The board did not announce any immediate appeal process, separation dates, or next steps for replacing the positions during the public portion of the meeting. No related personnel documents or notices were read into the record at the meeting, and no external agencies were cited as directing the action.
The terminations will appear in the board’s posted meeting materials and recording available on the Yakima County website, per the commissioners’ statement that recordings and transcriptions are posted online.
